Megliola: Sox' problems run deep

Thursday

Jun 5, 2014 at 7:41 PMJun 5, 2014 at 10:14 PM

By Lenny MegliolaSpecial to the News

Can we get this out of the way first? I'm sick of the Red Sox-Rays bull, OK?Getting hit by a baseball whistling in at 90 mph is beyond our imagination, but it's a way of life for baseball players. I get that.Things will be said. Tempers flare. Fists get cocked. These teams don't like each other. Fine. But the Red Sox and Rays have much bigger problems than each other. Check the standings. The next time they meet up again is July 25 at the Trop. The way they're going now, the only thing they'll be fighting for is to stay out of last place.It's hard to deliver any good news about the insanely streaky Red Sox. Ten-down, seven-up, three-down. They're about as stable as Donald Sterling.The three losses in Cleveland were gruesome. Boston's problems are many. If change doesn't come soon, any wild-card dream may be squashed by Independence Day. A ray (lower case r) of hope: the Yankees and Orioles have lacked consistency too. It's a surprise that the Blue Jays have the second-best record in baseball, but does anyone really think they can sustain this? Their track record says no.A few Red Sox glimpses, while noting John Farrell's hairline seems to be receding rapidly. Here's some reasons why.* This infatuation with Brock Holt has a shelf life. It's a nice story, but he will level off to the Triple-A guy he is. That's a shame, because the Red Sox have had a search party looking for a leadoff hitter all season, and Holt showed up. Alas, he's not the answer, and I'd love to eat my words on this one.* But not on this: It might be time to cut bait on Edward Mujica. He's basically throwing BP! I was solidly on board when the Red Sox signed him. Mujica and Junichi Tazawa, or the other way around, leading to Koji Uehara for the end game, very nice. It looked like the Red Sox had a golden bullpen trio for the last three innings. Mujica has been ghastly. He's disrupted the rhythm of the bullpen. You'll be seeing less of him — except in mop-up duty — and more of Craig Breslow and Andrew Miller, with cameo appearances from Chris Capuano and Burke Badenhop* Dustin Pedroia has to start hitting with some consistency. With the glove he's brilliant.* Jonny Gomes' penchant for striking out with runners on is killing this team. Grady Sizemore looks like the game has indeed passed him by. Jackie Bradley Jr. just can't get anything going. You see Bradley's weak at bats and hope Mookie Betts picks up his new position really quick.Then there's Daniel Nava. If Holt's been the Nava of last season, this year's Nava doesn't seem to have a clue at bat. Please, take a closer look at Nava's swing, Greg Colbrunn and Victor Rodriguez. Nava could be a key player if he finds some of his 2013 magic. Otherwise, the outfield situation is a mess. They really need a productive Shane Victorino, who can't seem to stick in the lineup.It's not all gloom and doom. Jon Lester has been outstanding and John Lackey is solid. Is it possible for Brandon Workman and Rubby De La Rosa to step up if this is going to be a lost season for Clay Buchholz and Felix Doubront? David Ortiz is going to put up his power numbers without the .300 average. Pedroia will be fine. A.J. Pierzynski and David Ross make an adequate catching combo. The light seems to be coming on for Xander Bogaerts, and Stephen Drew needs a little time.Easy to say that it's just early June. But how long can the Red Sox play the calendar game without picking up ground? Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor. The Red Sox have three in Detroit and three in Baltimore before coming home.Better start making a move now.Lenny Megliola can be reached at lennymegs@aol.com.

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